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Contrary to the notions of austerity economics, three years of budget cuts and government layoffs have only served to weaken the nation’s recovery. As seen in the latest issue of Prosperity Watch, new research convincingly demonstrates that government layoffs only lead to greater unemployment in difficult economic times. In short, we can’t reduce unemployment by increasing the number of the unemployed. For more details, see Prosperity Watch.

Many North Carolinians associate poverty with inner-cities or isolated rural communities, yet the past decade has seen the areas in between–the state’s suburban neighborhoods–experience the biggest jump in the poverty rate. For more details, see the latest issue of Prosperity Watch.

Last month’s local area unemployment report contained some good news and some bad news for communities across North Carolina. The good news: unemployment rates have dropped in 91 counties since June of last year, suggesting some improvement in the jobs picture. The bad news: most of the long-term job gains since the end of the Great Recession have been concentrated in just a few of North Carolina’s largest metro areas, namely Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro. Rural North Carolina is being left behind. See the newest issue of Prosperity Watch for details.

In the latest issue of Prosperity Watch, we see how North Carolina’s labor market is experiencing a climbing jobs deficit for fourth straight year, with annual employment growth failing to replace the jobs lost to the Great Recession or keep up with population growth. How hard will it be for the state to climb out of this hole?

Whatever happened to the American ideal that hard work always pays off? In the latest issue of Prosperity Watch, we see our state’s workers making huge gains in productivity—and consequently profits—for their employers, but these productivity gains are not being rewarded in the form of higher wages. Why are North Carolina’s workers getting such a bad deal?